


i didn't come here to find you, but i'm kind of glad i did

by savagemockingbird



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Blood, Dad Byleth? Dad Byleth., F/M, Fantasy Felannie Week 2020, Felix is bad with emotions, Hanahaki Disease, i haven't written either of them ever woops, possible ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23621965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savagemockingbird/pseuds/savagemockingbird
Summary: "Felix did not come to the Officer’s Academy for romance."Felix's emotions are a little too strong for his liking.Written for Fantastical Felannie Week 2020! Prompt was roses!
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 1
Kudos: 52





	i didn't come here to find you, but i'm kind of glad i did

**Author's Note:**

> i wasn't gonna write anything at first for this week BUT it was my friend's birthday and so i was like hmmm... i can write for this week, and for their bday!! so that's what happened. sorry if this seems rushed i promise i'll do my favs better next time lmao. anyways, this was for the day 3 prompt of roses!

Felix had come to the Officer’s Academy for a multitude of reasons. For one, to hone his blade and study under a teacher who was (hopefully) competent enough to help him train. Second, his father had sent him there to look after Dimitri (a promise that he only subconsciously accepted). Third, Sylvain and Ingrid were going to be attending anyway. He could’ve thought of other small little reasons, but one thing was for certain. 

Felix did not come to the Officer’s Academy for romance.

Yet here he was, clutching his chest tightly with one hand, stabilizing himself on the washroom counter with the other. Blood and rose petals littered the once spotless sink in the second-floor boys' washroom, but Felix could care less when his entire body was on fire and he felt like he was dying. He coughs and splutters once more, the hand that had been pressing itself against the counter now flying to his mouth in a feeble attempt to suppress whatever was trying to escape past his lips. 

Going to Manuela felt like it was out of the question, but Felix rises from his hunched position above the sink, inhaling sharply. Every breath felt like thorns poking into his lungs, but he breathes in again, trying to get his body to work. Despite the pain wracking his body, he gets himself to move and clean the sink and countertop to the best of his ability. If someone came to use the washroom, they would probably end up pinning the blame on Hubert, and though the thought amused Felix just a bit, he figured it best to spare himself the headache that it would bring.

The infirmary was probably closed around this time, because when Felix glances at the clock in the hall, it reads 3:30 A.M., so he trudges back into his own room. He can hear shuffling coming from Sylvain’s room, so he slams his fist three times on the door, tells (though everyone would argue Felix had shouted) him to keep it down, and retreats to bed. 

Lungs still on fire, Felix tosses and turns. He sighs and groans loudly before grabbing his pillow and tossing it across the room in hopes to let out frustration. It hits his desk, a pot of ink shattering on the floor. He stares at it, long and hard, knowing the ink was seeping into the carpets (and probably his pillow too), but Felix could care less. He curls up carefully, grumbling to himself and pulling the blankets over his head before being lulled into sleep.

***

_He’s standing in the library, sitting by her side, listening to her nattering on about some spell or another. Annette was like an excited pomeranian, Felix thinks to himself. She turns around, catches him smiling down at her. Her lips purse into a thin line. “What are you smiling at, Felix?”_

_He doesn’t know how to answer that, truth be told. Felix rarely smiled. Smiles were only ever reserved for rare occasions. Reserved for when he bested a worthy opponent in the training grounds. Reserved for when Mercedes and Dedue had cooked the best meal he had tasted in ages. Reserved for when he was sitting next to Annette, listening to that wonderful voice go on and on about something he could care less about, but the sound of her voice was too sweet to not tune in to. Reserved for when Annette became flustered after Felix had caught her singing in the greenhouse or the kitchen or anywhere really._

_So when he doesn’t reply, Annette pouts and pokes his cheek, snapping him back to reality. “You haven’t answered me, you grump,” she teases. Her pout turns into a large smile when Felix feels the faintest of red hints dust his face, creeping up his back._

_He opens his mouth to say something sarcastic, maybe tease her, but instead he breaks into a coughing fit, blood spurting all over the library table. Rose petals fall in a steady stream and he slaps his hand to his mouth, attempting to contain the flow. Annette screams, loud, and she runs out of the library._

_Felix feels sad, for some reason._

***

He wakes with a start, coughing and spluttering out rose petals and blood droplets all over the sheets. Felix’s chest heaves, and he breathes in, wincing at the thorny sensation in his lungs.

It hurts so much more this time, and part of him wishes he would die on the spot. Felix stands slowly, pain shooting into his back and legs, almost tipping over in the process. The metal clock on the nightstand read 5:30 A.M., so he prepares himself for the day ahead of him. It’s a hassle really, and Felix isn’t exactly a patient man, so by the time he’s finished getting ready, his entire body stings and the thorny feeling in his lungs had increased tenfold.

His pace is slow and he glances around the hall before finally attempting to make his way out. He pulls at his collar, hoping to get it loose momentarily to be able to breathe a little better. 

Felix knows another thing: he did not come to the Officer’s Academy to die.

***

He expects to be the first person in the classroom that morning, but clearly Felix expected wrong because Annette is sitting in her seat towards the front of the class, mumbling quietly to herself. When he walks closer, he notices a book of spells open on a page that is practically illegible to his eyes. He stands there, peering over her shoulder for a while before he opts to speak.

“Don’t you get tired of working so hard?”

_“BAH!”_ Annette practically jumps out of her own skin and Felix recoils slightly. She turns around to him and Felix thinks to himself that if she moved any faster, her buns would probably have slapped her in the face. She breathes out a sigh of (what he assumes to be) relief at the sight of him. “Oh, it’s just you!” Her traditional smile makes its way up to her face, and the thorny feeling in Felix’s lungs starts to burn further. He resists the urge to cough, knowing what the outcome would be.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” he says, doing anything to forget the sensation bubbling in his chest. “Don’t you get tired of working so hard? You’re way too early for class.”

Her face flushes slightly at that, and she pouts. “I’ve gotta work hard to catch up to everyone else… especially you, Felix.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You’re really good with a sword, and I don’t think I’d be able to beat you, even with magic.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be surprising. I train hard too.”

“I know that! Which is why I’m gonna work super hard, and I’ll be able to beat you someday! I swear it, Felix!” Her smile is bright, but her eyes are filled with determination and frankly Felix is just a tad bit concerned. 

“What are you going on about?” he asks. Annette seems to come down from her high because she starts giggling out apologies that Felix doesn’t quite catch. The burning in his lungs was becoming unbearable, and he wished anything would ease the pain.

The goddess seemed to have listened to him because Ashe comes strolling into the classroom alongside Dimitri and Dedue. Dimitri expresses his surprise at Felix’s early appearance in the class, to which Felix rolls his eyes and brushes it off. He takes his seat away from everyone, and waits for Sylvain to come in late because of his late night escapades (Felix rolls his eyes internally at the thought). He’s pulling out his books when his head snaps up at Dimitri’s concerned voice.

“I’m telling you, Ashe! I know it was late and I _was_ a bit tired, but I promise I’m not lying.”

“ _What_ are you going on about?” Felix cuts in. Dimitri looks a tad startled at the roughness of his voice, but swallows and finds his own.

“There were rose petals in the sink last night,” Dimitri tells him. “In the washroom on the second floor. I have no clue who would bring roses in there.”

“Probably Sylvain,” Ingrid answers, walking into the room with a sigh, Mercedes beside her. She takes her seat in front of Felix, and turns to Dimitri. “I _did_ hear Felix getting quite upset with him last night.”

It’s Dimitri’s turn to sigh as he takes his seat in the front row across from Annette’s. “I will have a, um…” He clears his throat. “ _Discussion_ with him after class.” 

Dedue walks past Felix on his way to the front, but pauses momentarily to look at Felix. His face is pale, and he’s chewing on the nail of his index finger, foot tapping on the floor. “Are you alright, Felix? You look ill.”

Felix mumbles out a soft “‘m fine,” but Dedue tells him he should visit the infirmary just in case. Felix tells him to mind his business, and Dedue apologizes for prying, making his way to his seat next to Dimitri.

“At least he’s being a gentleman?” Mercedes offers from her seat next to Annette, who begins to laugh. “He bothered to get the girl flowers after all.”

“Probably trying to impress her,” Ashe sighs from his seat next to Ingrid. She buries her head in her hands, and Mercedes laughs at the sight. 

“He’s just an idiot who needs to stop wasting his time,” Felix chimes in. The burning in his lungs had begun to settle down a bit, but his anxiety at his classmates finding out what was wrong with him lingered in the back of his mind.

“All of you, that’s enough.” The students turn to the professor, who looked as if he had been awake all night. Byleth lets out a heavy sigh once he’d made it to the podium, pulling out a stack of papers from the briefcase he had been carrying. “There are more important things to deal with than Sylvain’s mistake of a love life.” This earns a collective laugh from the Blue Lions, but it’s quickly quieted down when Byleth says, “like your certification exams.”

The desk next to Felix may still be empty, but he knows it’ll be a long day, even without Sylvain’s chatter.

***

When class is over, and Felix is going to retreat to his quarters, Byleth stops him with a firm hand on his shoulder, and a proposition to duel. 

Felix can’t say no, even though the oddness of the situation bothers him.

Byleth is skilled, and Felix would be lying if he said he wasn’t the tiniest bit jealous. The former mercenary was hyper-aware of his surroundings, knew when to use his hands to punch and feet to kick, knew when to strike and where. Felix is forced to fight defensively around him but Byleth praised him for fixing his stance accordingly, because a good swordsman has to be ready for any type of attack, or something like that.

What Felix was _not_ prepared for was how Byleth jumped over his sword when he went to strike his knees, and kicked Felix square in the chest on his down. Felix doubled over, coughing and spluttering in an attempt to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him. Byleth walks over carefully, still clutching the wooden sword tightly in his hand. Upon noticing Felix’s sword discarded, he drops it, and kneels down to his student.

“Sorry for that,” he says monotonously. Felix would’ve rolled his eyes, answered with a ‘no you’re not,’ because Byleth’s lips tug into the smallest of shit-eating grins, but Felix bursts into a coughing fit, blood beginning to dribble from his lips.

“Oh goddess,” he hears the professor say softly. “I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.” When Felix looks up, Byleth is staring at him with as much emotion as the man could muster up. Felix coughs again, and before he’s able to crush the petals in his hand, Byleth grabs his wrist. 

“So you’re the culprit behind the rose petals, uh?” Byleth’s voice is patient, almost understanding. “And we all thought it was Sylvain.”

“You can’t tell anyone else about this or I’ll… I’ll-”

“Felix.” He lifts his head to stare into the professor’s eyes. “Go visit the infirmary.”

“You can’t-”

“ _Felix.”_

He stands, slowly and painfully, struggling until Byleth helps him up. He immediately swats the professor’s hand away, picks up his discarded wooden sword, puts it away, and wordlessly walks out. When he’s gone, Byleth picks up his own sword, sighing heavily.

“What the fuck am I gonna do with him…”

***

Felix does not go to the infirmary.

His legs bring him to the greenhouse, and on his way he glances to the sky. Darkness is beginning to settle in Garegg Mach, so he figures no one is going to be out right now.

Felix was wrong.

There’s a faint humming coming from the greenhouse, and Felix wonders if he’s under some sort of spell when his legs move of their own volition. He steps inside, shielding his eyes momentarily from the blinding lights before bringing it down and seeing Annette twirling around, watering can in hand. She’s singing some song he doesn’t recognize (he immediately assumes it's one of her own), without a care in the world for anything around her. 

“Don’t tell me the flowers are going to start singing too,” he says suddenly. Annette lets out an undignified scream and whips around to face him.

“Felix! Stop scaring me like that! One of these days, I might get so scared I’ll burn you to a crisp by accident!”

He lets out a short laugh. “I doubt that. What are you doing here so late anyways?”

“Late?” She cocks her head to one side before Felix points outside the greenhouse and into the dark. “Oh no! I was watering the plants and lost track of time…”

“I see that now.” He looks over her shoulder to see the flowers she had been watering.

She had been tending to a patch of roses. Red roses. His chest squeezes uncomfortably.

“Do you like those ones, Felix?” She smiles brightly at him, and the burning sensation in his lungs return. “Those ones are some of my favourites. We couldn’t really grow flowers in Faerghus because of how cold it was, but I’m sure you know that.”

She only gets a hum of acknowledgement in return. Annette goes back to watering the plants, but she’s not humming, and so Felix does the only sensible thing he can think of right now.

“Why aren’t you singing?”

“Huh?” She turns to him again, pink dusting her cheeks. “Well, you’re here, and that’s embarrassing…”

“Your singing is nice,” he says. “I don’t get _why_ you’re so embarrassed. I came here because I heard singing.”

“Felix you can’t just say things like that!” Felix knows she’s trying to sound upset but he glances up from the roses to see her face bright red and her smile up to her ears. “I don’t even know what song to sing!”

He knows he should be running, knows that the burning sensation in his lungs means that soon enough he’ll be coughing up blood and rose petals. He knows he should tell her he has to go. She would be disappointed, but Annette knows he is simply trying to improve. 

Instead, Felix says, “All of them. We have time.”

  
  


***

Felix finally caves in after a few more days of intense pain, and allows the professor to bring him to see Manuela. Byleth leaves when he’s told, not wanting Felix to be uncomfortable. A few tests later, and Manuela lets out a quiet “Oh,” that has Felix’s stomach doing flips. 

“Well?” he asks, impatient.

“Well, with all the symptoms and tests I’ve done, I can only come to one logical conclusion.”

“Which is?”

Manuela sighs. “You have something called Hanahaki disease. It’s pretty rare, and is formed when someone experiences intense feelings of unrequited love. The patient begins to cough up flowers, and it can be deadly.” 

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Felix grumbles.

“Stupid or not, that’s the only diagnosis I can give you,” Manuela tells him. “Like I said, it can be deadly, which means something needs to be done about it.”

“Surgery?” 

“Surgery is entirely possible, but there is one condition.” Felix lifts a brow, and Manuela continues. “You won’t be able to feel anything towards the current object of your affection. Not love nor hate, nothing at all. Or, you could confess to this person, and if they return your feelings, you’ll go back to the way things were.”

Felix mumbles something under his breath. Manuela tells him to take a day or two to decide, and that they would worry about other technicalities later. He leaves with a soft “thank you,” and leaves. Byleth steps into the infirmary after him, and Felix can hear the professor let out a long sigh. Not that he cares. 

Felix has much more pressing things to worry about right now.

His dreams that night are filled with Annette and her singing and the roses in the greenhouse, but he can’t breathe and the thorns poking into his lungs have become so vicious that he can no longer breathe.

When he wakes up sweating, Felix knows he’s fucked.

***

He did not want to go to Sylvain for girl advice, so he finds himself sitting in Mercedes’ room the following day, asking what kinds of things girls like. He normally wouldn’t have sought out anyone in the first place, but his life kind of depended on it right now.

Felix did not come to the Officer’s Academy to die, either.

Mercedes tells him that every girl is different, and that if she would know the girl, maybe she could help. When she asks if it’s Ingrid, Felix’s nose scrunches up, and Mercedes is laughing more than he thinks she should be. 

“It’s Annette,” he says flatly. Her eyes go wide, and she’s suddenly chatting his ear off about how happy she is because they’d be perfect for each other. 

By the time they’ve finished talking, his tea is cold and his head hurts. Night is beginning to fall again, and so he does the only logical thing and heads for the greenhouse.

***

She’s there once more, singing something incomprehensible tending to the red roses that were now beginning to fully bloom. He walks in slow, but she turns around, startling at his appearance. “Felix! I told you-”

“Not to scare you like that?” He finishes. “I know. But I didn’t say anything. You just turned around.”

She pouts and he steps beside her. “You’re evil, Felix!”

He turns to her, a small frown tugging the corner of his lips. “Evil? What have I done that makes me evil?”

“Always scaring me and teasing me like that!” She crosses her arms, huffing. “And always asking me to sing! What’s with you?”

“I think of your voice a lot,” he says, turning his head back to the roses. “It’s like I’m your captive or something.”

“Huh? My captive?”

“Something like that,” he says. The thorns are digging further into his lungs and he knows that he doesn’t have time to play games anymore. “Hey Annette?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you sing for me? Like… everyday, maybe?”

“Everyday!?” she squawks. “Felix you’re crazy!”

“I’m crazy? You’re the one spinning around and singing all on your own in the middle of the night!” At that, she shoves him lightly and he laughs, before he purses his lips into a thin line. “I really like you, you know,” he says absentmindedly.

“We’re friends, so I should hope you like me!” She glances back at his face, only to see his eyes closed and cheeks pink. “Felix, are you blushing?”

“Shut up-” he says quickly. Annette giggles, her own face turning pink. “You know what I mean.”

“That was sudden,” she says quietly. She turns to him, grabbing his hand and startling him out of his own thoughts. “But I really like you too Felix! I actually thought you thought I was annoying because of how clumsy I can be, and you always seem irritated whenever we talk and-”

She’s cut off by Felix breaking out into a coughing fit. Blood stains his shirt, and there’s rose petals falling everywhere, but he can’t stop because he feels like he’s going to throw up. And he’s right, for the most part, because he’s throwing up petals all over the greenhouse flower, and Annette panics and tells him to stay there, that she’s going to get Manuela to help.

He blacks out after she returns, Manuela and Byleth in tow. He briefly hears Byleth say, “I guess the kid really did have it in him, huh?”

***

When Felix wakes up, he’s lying down on a bed in the infirmary, Annette sitting on a chair, waiting for him to wake. He grumbles, still groggy, but her face immediately brightens at the sight of him.

“You’re awake! I’m so glad you’re ok!”

“Don’t be so loud,” he says softly. He squints when he sinks deeper into the pillow, staring up at the infirmary lights.

“Sorry,” she says, much quieter than before. She stares down at her hands in her lap. “The Professor and Manuela told me everything when I brought you in here, but she said you were ok now. That’s great, isn’t it?”

“So she was right,” Felix mumbles to himself. There’s no burning in his chest, no constricting in his lungs. When he sucks in a breath, it cools his throat feels refreshing, not like he was choking on air and struggling for life.

“I can pester you later about everything,” she says. “But you need to rest more.”

“I’m fine, Annette. See, look I can-”

“That’s doctor’s orders, Felix.” Byleth had strolled into the room and both students turned around to look. “You’re excused from class for the next few days. You need to rest.”

Felix sighs loudly. “So I’m stuck here with nothing to do?” Byleth nods, a small smile on his face.

“It won’t be so bad!” Annette chimes in. “I’ll come in and sing for you every day!”

He doesn’t say it out loud, but he smiles, and Annette seems to understand. That is enough for him.

Felix did not come to the Officer’s Academy for romance, but maybe romance wasn’t such a bad thing.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for sticking around!! my twitter is queenofdelusion if any of you wanna swing by and say hi!!


End file.
